Joseph Schumpeter and Dynamic Economical Change

Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950) viewed capitalism as a dynamic engine of progress. In his view, mature economic systems find a regular and stable routine of supply, demand, and exchange; Schumpeter called this the "circular flow". Entrepreneurs interrupt this circular flow with new ideas and visions about the economic future, recombining existing resources to create new and more valuable products and services.

Civilization: The West and the Rest

If in the year 1411 you had been able to circumnavigate the globe, you would have been most impressed by the dazzling civilizations of the Orient. The Forbidden City was under construction in Ming Beijing; in the Near East, the Ottomans were closing in on Constantinople. By contrast, England would have struck you as a miserable backwater ravaged by plague, bad sanitation and incessant war. The other quarrelsome kingdoms of Western Europe - Aragon, Castile, France, Portugal and Scotland - would have seemed little better.

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

This is the story of how success happens. It is told through the lives of one composite American couple, Harold and Erica - how they grow, push forward, are pulled back, fail, and succeed. Distilling a vast array of information into these two vividly realized characters, Brooks illustrates a fundamental new understanding of human nature.

This is a superb book and I have no reservation in giving it 5/5 across the board.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The ability to weave the powerful results of rafts and rafts of research results in sociology, behavioural science, psychology, neuroscience, anthropology and more into a captivating story.

Have you listened to any of Arthur Morey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No.

Any additional comments?

I have one complaint. The US-centric view causes David Brooks in one part to write (p348) about living in "New York, China or Africa". This is nauseating. At best, New York is a state - but generally spoken about as a city. China is 1.5bn people with widely varying conditions, circumstances, cultures and environments. The same goes for Africa: 1.0bn people living in 54 countries. Please stop talking about Africa as a single place.

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

In this, his first audiobook, Tony Hsieh - the widely admired CEO of Zappos, the online shoe retailer -explains how he created a unique culture and commitment to service that aims to improve the lives of its employees, customers, vendors, and backers. Using anecdotes and stories from his own life experiences, and from other companies, Hsieh provides concrete ways that companies can achieve unprecedented success.

Tony Hsieh is buried so far into his "magical kingdom" that he is incapable of seeing that he is dazzled by his own brilliance. This is not a book about building a business, it is Hsieh marvelling at his list of ten things that people at Zappos do, and that's about it.

I would be amazed if in a different climate Hsieh can do it again - perhaps he can, but there is no evidence in this book of any of that. Instead, by page 200 I am out of patience for the dripping adoration of his employees for how in awe they are of Zappos (read Hsieh).

The best comment I have read on shameless self promotion comes from Barry J. Gibbons In Dream Merchants and HowBoys, where he writes of Richard Branson (Virgin empire):

"This man does fascinate me. I have high respect for what he has achieved, and for his undoubted intuition. But sometimes when I see that bearded face in (yet another) facile photo opportunity, I reflect that, sometimes, there just isn’t enough vomit in the world."

I cannot put it better than that when it comes to Hsieh and his Zappos story.

Has Delivering Happiness turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. This is Hsieh writing about Delivering on Self Love.

How could the performance have been better?

Not publish the book.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Line three page 47.

Any additional comments?

Burn it.

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